Special tests and treatments:

Endoscopy:

The endoscopy room is situated in the OPD area. About 120 to 150 patients are evaluated each day. It is staffed with a team of doctors from the ENT Department and staff nurses. Both Flexible and Rigid endoscopy are done here along with Narrow band Imaging (NBI) and Stroboscopy when required. Flexible endoscopy is done for patients with problems such as snoring, laryngeal problems causing hoarseness and some throat problems like cancer of the throat. Rigid nasal endoscopy is done for patients with nose, sinus and nasopharyngeal problems. The pictures can be seen on a monitor, as there is a tiny video camera on the end of the endoscope.

Stroboscopy:

Stroboscopy is done in the OP area as part of the voice assessment. It is done for patients with voice problems to look at the vibratory pattern of the vocal cords. The larynx has the vocal cords in it. The cords are like guitar strings and make sound by vibrating. By using pulsed light, the movement of the vocal cord is seen in slow motion. The picture is stored on a computer and can be replayed and analysed later.

Voice clinics:

Voice clinics are on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the OP area. Stroboscopy is performed by the ENT Specialist. The Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) analyses the voice. And together the Doctor and SLP plan the treatment for the patient in the clinic.

Audiovestibular clinics:

The clinics are managed by doctor who has special training in this field. The problems of hearing (audio) and balance (vestibular) are assessed and treated here. The unit performs special tests and runs rehabilitation programmes. They can help people with hearing problems, speech (the sounds made) and language (the words) problems and balance disorders. After the clinician has examined, the patient is sent to the audio-vestibular lab

The Diagnostic services / tests include:

• Pure tone audiometry – the levels of sound (different noises) that people can hear and Impedance audiometry – to test how the parts of the ear, especially the eardrum are working.
• Auditory brainstem response (ABR) audiometry – evaluates the electrical activity in the brain stem that happens when a person hears a sound.
• Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR): is a special type of ABR which is very useful in assessing the hearing levels in babies who need to have hearing aids fitted.
• Oto-acoustic emission testing (OAE) – a special hearing test that records the sounds that the ear produces. A tiny microphone and speaker are put into the ear canal for this test.
• Electrocochleography & Videonystagmography are used for evaluating (testing) a person with giddiness.
• Hearing Aid trial – hearing aid is a small electrical device put into the ear to help people hear
• Neonatal screening for deafness – testing all newborn babies to see if they are deaf; since January 2010 we perform universal neonatal screening for all the babies born in our hospital.
• Speech assessment – testing what people say and how well they understand words / language
• Voice analysis and therapy – done by the audiologists using computer based software